Susan Lamb (Longman, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you to the member for Lindsay for raising this motion. I rise today in a state of furious dismay. I rise because our nation is in crisis and there is simply not enough being done to fix it. There have been 63 Australian women who have lost their lives to violence since the start of 2018. That's 63 lives too many and, with a month still left in the year, I fear that that number may rise further still. Make no mistake: this is a crisis.

Yesterday, 25 November, marked International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. It's almost incomprehensible that such a day need exist, but, until we see some change, we still need this platform to shed light on just how bad this problem has become. Every day, police respond to over 700 cases of domestic violence. While domestic and family violence affects people from all walks of life, we know that it is women who are disproportionately affected. In Australia, women are nearly three times more likely than men to experience violence from an intimate partner. They are almost four times more likely than a man to be hospitalised after being assaulted by their spouse or their partner. These are truly shameful statistics.

Last month, I met with the founder of an initiative in my community called Hairdressers with Hearts. This initiative aims to assist women and men who are currently experiencing abuse, be it family and domestic violence or elder abuse, by utilising the safe and trusted space of a hairdressing salon to provide information, to provide support and, of course, to provide advice. The founder, Sonia Colvin, told me how she introduced this initiative three years after hearing some absolutely terrible stories from her clients, knowing that something had to be done. Sonia sought out the information and training to link victims up with the support they need in the time of crisis. She has now assisted 89 women and men since she commenced this initiative on Bribie Island. I truly commend Sonia and her team for the great work that they're doing, and I'm looking forward to continuing to work with them.

But an organisation can only do so much. For real societal change, we need a government who will support people when they need it most. That's why Labor has committed to investing $88 million over two years in a new safe housing fund to increase housing options, including for women and children escaping domestic and family violence. To escape an abusive relationship, a victim needs somewhere to go. All too often, a lack of housing options can stand in the way of that escape. While victims need somewhere to go, they also need time to get their affairs in order—to seek support, to change a bank account, to go to the doctor, or probably just to move out. I don't believe that people should have to choose between leaving a violent relationship and earning a living. That's why I'm proud to support Labor's commitment to legislate 10 days of paid domestic violence leave into the National Employment Standards.

I don't believe that this is something that should be contentious in parliament. I ask the Morrison government to join with Labor and offer bipartisan support for this legislation. In welcoming the newest member of the House this morning, the member for Wentworth—and I'd like to congratulate her, of course, on her recent election—I extend that request to her; I ask her to join and support this legislation for 10 days paid domestic violence and family leave as well.

We need to do absolutely everything we can to make it easier for people to escape violent and abusive relationships, and this must be a priority. We cannot go on like this. We simply cannot. Sixty-three women have already lost their lives. This is a national crisis. The status quo is unacceptable, with 63 lives lost already. Let's stop this, and let's stop this now.

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